South Africa's embarrassment of glitches

by h716a5.icu Uncategorized

The ODI series loss in India won’t help the qualification process for 2023 World Cup and, more immediately, the mindset ahead of the T20 World Cup

Firdose Moonda11-Oct-20221:37

Will South Africa be able to head to the T20 World Cup with the right mindset?

South Africa head to the men’s T20 World Cup in Australia with what seems like 99 problems, and the pitch ain’t one of them.They could have been playing in Melbourne or Mumbai, or even on the moon, and might still have batted with “one foot in India and one foot in Australia”, as Makhaya Ntini put it on ESPNcricinfo’s post-match programme, explaining the discombobulation that defined their efforts in the deciding ODI on Tuesday.”You can’t expect the players to be up for every single game,” Mark Boucher, South Africa’s outgoing head coach, said after the game. “That’s when you’ve got to rely on your technical stuff and your mental stuff to pull you through, and we’ve been a little bit weak in both those departments. Today, especially.”Later in his press engagement, Boucher said “mental fatigue kicking in” – a worrying phrase at the start of a summer that includes a T20 World Cup, a Test tour of Australia, and the inaugural SA20. It also asks questions about what could be making South Africa’s cricketers so tired, given that they don’t play as much as many international sides.Related

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Boucher offered a throwaway line about T20 leagues, and even though five of the current squad – David Miller, Quinton de Kock, Tabraiz Shamsi, Dwaine Pretorius and Heinrich Klaasen – played in the CPL and three others – Reeza Hendricks, Temba Bavuma and Bjorn Fortuin – were part of a Namibia Global T20, overworked players cannot be the real reason behind their blowout.To be fair, there’s some illness in the camp, with Bavuma, Shamsi and most recently Keshav Maharaj all forced to sit out of matches. Bavuma and Shamsi missed the last two; Maharaj led in Bavuma’s absence and then had to miss the final one. All three are essential to South Africa’s T20 World Cup plans, even if two of them are under extreme, perhaps exhausting, scrutiny.Bavuma’s strike rate in T20 cricket has long been a talking point, more so after he missed out on an SA20 contract. And he has only scored 11 runs in four innings on this India tour. With Reeza Hendricks in red-hot form, there’s talk of whether the captain will drop himself, or be dropped, and that may be one of the things creating anxiety in the camp.Boucher played it straight, as he has to, and acknowledged there is concern around Bavuma’s form, but not his leadership.”Temba will want to try and get some sort of form before a World Cup. We do still have two warm-up games and the conditions will suit his style of batting,” Boucher said. “We’ll try to get him back up and running again and get him into the nets and hopefully give him a knock or two before the World Cup starts and see where he is at. He is the captain and we treat him like that.”Mark Boucher acknowledged there is concern around Temba Bavuma’s form, but not his leadership.•Getty ImagesShamsi doesn’t seem to have the same level of support.Although he was the No. 1-ranked T20I bowler not too long ago [and is still at No. 5], Boucher described Maharaj as South Africa’s “No. 1 spinner”, albeit “especially in the one-day format”.The reality is that in Australian conditions and on form, Maharaj is probably also ahead of Shamsi in T20Is, if only because Shamsi’s recent performances have been erratic, while Maharaj has maintained consistency. Considering how long Shamsi waited for his chance during Imran Tahir’s reign as the sole spinner and how quickly he has fallen behind Maharaj, it’s understandable that Shamsi may not be in great spirits. He is known to be one of those that forms the life and soul of the change room, and if he is down, it can’t help the team.Then there’s the elephant in the room: Boucher’s imminent departure, to the IPL, which has necessitated his resignation from the South Africa job.CSA has admitted it was taken by surprise by Boucher’s decision and has no succession plan in place. The board is likely to appoint an interim coach for the Australia Tests – the last time that happened was when Enoch Nkwe took the team to India, where they lost, and CSA went into freefall afterwards – and then split the red- and white-ball roles for the future. Several insiders confirmed that in the little scouting CSA has done to replace Boucher so far, it has found no-one interested in taking the job.Meanwhile, Boucher is leaving with a year left on his contract, which was due to expire after the 2023 ODI World Cup, a tournament South Africa are scrambling to get to, more so after their series defeat to India.South Africa are in 11th place on the points table [the top seven teams and hosts India are guaranteed places at the tournament] and have matches left to play. In theory, they should feel confident of their chances. They only need to win three of their remaining five games [three against England, two versus Netherlands] to finish above West Indies in eighth place. But that’s not all. Even if they manage that minimum requirement, Sri Lanka and Ireland can catch them, but they both have tough assignments. Sri Lanka have six matches; three each against Afghanistan, who have won ten of their 12 so far, and New Zealand, who have 11 wins from 15. To challenge for eighth place, Sri Lanka have to win three, and if they do, South Africa will need one more win than Sri Lanka. Ireland host Bangladesh next May and need to win all three matches to finish in the top eight. In that case, South Africa will also need four wins.1:31

Ntini: South Africa batted like they had one foot in Australia

On paper, it sounds doable but on the field, it may not be.Apart from the obvious challenge that England, in particular, will pose, that series is sandwiched between the group stage and knockouts of the SA20. That could work in South Africa’s favour, if players are in form, or against them, if the reverse is true. It will also put the spotlight on Bavuma, who won’t be playing in the SA20, and doubtless that will throw up many of the same questions it has this time.And there’s the Netherlands matches, which many will view as easy for South Africa to get points, but they are scheduled at the end of March, when the first-choice players will be at the IPL. So South Africa can’t consider the matches already won.”It’s not ideal,” Boucher said, even though that won’t be his problem. “The reason why we are in this situation is because we haven’t always had continuity within our one-day team and there’s been various reasons – players leaving to come to IPL, and Covid-19. There has been a bit of inconsistency. But, the guys will know what’s required. They’ve got to win those games and if we don’t we just have to accept the fact that we will have to go and qualify for the World Cup.”Ultimately, that’s what it may come down to and it’s not the end of the world. A qualification tournament in Zimbabwe in June, where South Africa are very likely to be among the two best sides, shouldn’t be anything more than a minor inconvenience. But it isn’t. It’s embarrassing. And South African cricket has already been through too many of those over the last three years to stomach another one.

Like a moth to the flame, Mohammad Rizwan shows the light to Pakistan

by n8rngtd.top Uncategorized

Unrelenting and immoveable, Pakistan’s anchorman gives his team just enough to win

Matt Roller28-Sep-2022The moths are the first thing you notice when night falls at Lahore’s Gaddafi Stadium.They stick to every surface, refusing to budge no matter how hard you try. Fast, sudden movements can throw them off briefly but they are soon back as they once were: stubborn, persistent, unyielding. And the evening sky turned to dusk and the moths grew in number, Mohammad Rizwan walked out to bat.Since he shuffled up the order to open the batting in T20 internationals, nearly two years ago, Rizwan has become the antidote to the long-held reputation of Pakistan sides. They are mercurial. They are unpredictable. You never know which Pakistan will turn up on the night.Well, you always know which Mohammad Rizwan will turn up on the night. Nobody can match his average in this format of the game, which stands at 53.76, and in the last month he has taken his relentless consistency to new heights. Since the start of the Asia Cup, he has batted 11 times, scored seven half-centuries and averaged 56.22.On Wednesday night in Lahore, he batted for exactly 100 minutes, swatting the moths away while driving Pakistan to a total they could – and did – defend. He batted through to the 18th over, grinding out 63 off 46 on a slow pitch with variable bounce; none of his team-mates managed more than 15.Rizwan had just faced his eighth ball when he scampered through towards the bowler’s end for a single. Dawid Malan scampered in from backward point and hurled the ball towards the stumps, but as Rizwan dipped his head for the finish line, Malan’s throw struck him clean in the back. He shrugged it off, but it was serious enough to keep him off the field throughout England’s chase.Related

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He offered a chance off his 12th ball, put down by Alex Hales at mid-on, and immediately made it clear that he had no intentions of letting England off the hook, swinging his next ball away for the game’s first six over square leg. After 10 overs, he had only faced 23 balls as his partners got in and got out; Pakistan were 66 for 3 and going nowhere.Wickets continued to fall. Immediately after the drinks break, he skipped down the pitch to loft Adil Rashid straight back over his head for six but Malan held onto a sharp chance to dismiss Iftikhar Ahmed. Mark Wood then rearranged Asif Ali’s stumps with a searing yorker, and Mohammad Nawaz ran himself out spectacularly.Rizwan was undeterred, running England ragged. He faced only eight dots across his innings, working the gaps and ensuring Pakistan reached something approaching a par score. It was a mark of his quality that he was the only player to cope with Wood’s raw pace, scoring 14 of the 20 runs that Wood conceded including a vicious swivel-pull for six.There is a sense with Rizwan that whatever he does will never be enough and clearly, there have been occasions when he has chewed up balls without kicking on. Perhaps he could go harder against legspin; perhaps he could kick on sooner when the field spreads after the powerplay.But he does not play as he does, taking the innings deep and churning out runs game after game just for the sake of it. At full strength, Pakistan have one of the world’s best bowling attacks, which means that with the bat, reaching par is often enough. It is a tried and tested method which has won them many more games than it has lost.Rizwan’s slow-burning consistency can lower Pakistan’s ceiling, but it invariably raises the floor: consecutive innings of 88 off 67 and 63 off 46 have helped them scrape together enough runs to seal three and six-run victories. In a series where England’s own top order have struggled for runs – with Alex Hales’ matchwinning 53 in the first game being their only half-century in 10 attempts – he has been unabating.England’s batting approach – a deep line-up, which allows ultra-aggression throughout – is often held up as the gold standard, a futuristic style which will become the norm as T20 cricket evolves. So it was telling that their captain, Moeen Ali, suggested his side could learn plenty from Rizwan’s innings.”He’s a brilliant player and he’s hard to stop,” Moeen said. “He’s busy and he hits boundaries in awkward positions. He saw the situation and adapted to the wicket today. He’s been free-flowing a lot of the time and today it still felt like he was doing the same. He took risks when he needed to but played properly when he needed to as well.”Rizwan’s tally of 315 runs in five innings is the highest-ever in a bilateral T20I series. “I think we can learn a lot from the way he played today,” Moeen added. “He’s a fantastic player. We’ve obviously found him quite difficult to bowl to in this series so far.”The T20 World Cup is edging ever closer and conditions in Lahore were miles away from those Pakistan will encounter in Australia, a country where Rizwan has made only 45 runs in three T20I innings. It will be a big test for him to adjust to the extra pace and bounce that is associated with Australian pitches.But whether he wins them a trophy or not, it feels inevitable that Rizwan, Pakistan’s own moth, will continue to churn out half-centuries like his life depends on it. In a format that is meant to be fickle, volatile and fleeting, Rizwan’s runs have become reassuringly predictable.

Conway and Latham ignore the hype and make Pakistan pay for buying into it

by n8rngtd.top Uncategorized

On a green surface, Southee backed his openers to grind it out – there are few better than Conway and Latham for that job anyway

Danyal Rasool02-Jan-2023The first Test hadn’t yet finished when talk of the strip this Test would be played on began. Interim chief selector Shahid Afridi promised a “green” pitch, and on the eve of the second Test, pictures on the PCB’s social media account showed enough grass to barely distinguish it from the outfield. On the morning of the game, Shakil Shaikh, a member of the PCB’s (not very) new-look management committee, declared that the pitch problem had been resolved “in a wink” on a “new, lively surface”.When Tim Southee walked out to the middle for the toss, he paid no attention to any of this. Not just because he probably doesn’t hang on to every word Afridi says, and he certainly doesn’t follow Shaikh on Twitter. But he couldn’t ignore the look of the pitch itself, which, while not quite as emerald green as pictures from the previous day suggested, had a distinct greenish hue that hadn’t been in evidence on any surface used for international games all season. He batted.

****

New Zealand are second from bottom in this cycle of the World Test Championship and haven’t won a Test since February. They have lost four of their last five matches. There aren’t too many things they have done well in the format since lifting the WTC trophy 18 months ago. But in Devon Conway and Tom Latham, they possess an opening pair that might just go on to become the envy of the world.Related

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Since the start of 2016, no pair averages more for the first wicket than the 67.25 Latham and Conway (minimum 500 runs) have. While this was just their eighth innings together as an opening pair, their credentials in the top order are rock solid. When Conway dropped down to No. 3 in New Zealand’s home season last year, he amassed 388 runs in six innings, including two centuries against Bangladesh and a 92 against South Africa.That was why, on a green surface that retained a fair bit of moisture, Southee showed no hesitation in backing his openers to see the first hour out. There are few better equipped to grind out an opposition bowling attack, their partnership in the first Test a perfect exhibition of their abilities. Pakistan appeared to have bought into the hype around the pitch, dropping a spinner [Nauman Ali] for an extra fast bowler [Naseem Shah], one whose fitness has been questioned of late.Conway and Latham can do the grind, but are also astute enough to know when to choose belligerence. A green surface and three fast bowlers invariably meant Pakistan would go searching for something; 46 of the 115 deliveries bowled by the fast men in the first session were overpitched. And while the swing faded away fairly rapidly, the run-scoring when Pakistan erred did not; balls that were either short and/or wide or too full went for 45 in 53 deliveries.But when Babar Azam turned to Agha Salman as early as in the seventh over, the bowler found the turn too slow, and New Zealand milked the spin at over four runs an over. Conway took a particular liking to Abrar Ahmed, using his feet to hit him down the ground, plundering him for 60 runs in as many balls, with eight fours and a six.”With the nature of the grass on the surface, it had maintained a bit of pace in the wicket,” Conway, who scored 122 to Latham’s 71, said after the day’s play. “When the ball’s harder, it comes off the bat a bit better as well. We were rewarded for good cricket shots that went for boundaries. We managed to get off to a quick start.”Agha Salman got purchase off the surface as the day wore on and picked up three wickets•Associated PressIt might sound simple enough in theory, but none of this is easy. After all, the two became the first New Zealand opening pair to put on consecutive century stands away from home. They are the first visiting openers to register successive century stands in Pakistan; only one other pair had managed two in the same series. That was over 25 years back.The game might have turned in more ways than one in the final session, but Pakistan might find an imposing enough total by the time they get a chance to bat. Salman’s three wickets and the speed at which the ball spun in the final session might have encouraged them, but New Zealand have fielded three spinners, and should have the resources to exploit any such liveliness.”It’s starting to change,” Conway said. “After tea, there was a bit more turn on offer, which is showing the nature of the wicket drying out and assisting the spinners a little bit more. It’s skidding on a little bit more, and there isn’t as much carry as the morning, so it’s interesting to see what the wicket will look like on the last three days”.Some sides might have viewed a toss won on this surface against a three-pronged seam attack as an automatic bowl-first. New Zealand, instead, saw it for the opportunity. They cut Mir Hamza when he strayed wide and drove Naseem while the bounce was true and the trajectory straight. They milked Agha around the square and smashed Abrar around the park. They kept the runs ticking along, and the wickets column dry.For that, you need a quality opening pair, and in Conway and Latham, New Zealand are well sorted.

Virat Kohli is India's slowest-scoring batter in T20 internationals. Should he go down the order?

by h716a5.icu Uncategorized

In T20, how quickly a player scores depends on how quickly they accelerate, not on their strike rate at the end

Kartikeya Date06-Dec-2022When cricket teams lose, the tendency among supporters is to look for scapegoats. These tend not to have anything to do with the team’s competitiveness, but rather focus on “respectability”. Thus, when India lose a Test match or Test series, attention is inevitably drawn to the batters, though it is the bowlers who couldn’t bowl the opposition out twice. In T20, the blame tends to be directed at the batters who score the fewest runs, though it is the speed of run-scoring that determines competitiveness.In T20 matches the field is spread, and so singles are on offer pretty much on every ball a batter faces. So producing a high average is not very difficult (compared to doing so in Test cricket or even ODI cricket) if a player is prepared to score slow enough.Virat Kohli’s scoring rate after 4008 runs in T20Is stands at 137.96. Let’s say it is 138 runs per 100 balls faced. Compared to other players, that appears to be a healthy scoring rate. That is until you consider how long it takes him to achieve that rate. This is given in the table below. Kohli’s average T20I innings lasts 27.1 balls, from which he produces 37.5 runs. The same figures for the next 14 most prolific T20I batters for India are in the table below Kohli’s figures.Related

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Immediately below Kohli in the table are India’s current opening pair. Let’s say that they both score at the same rate as him. Except, that they survive 20 and 24 balls per innings respectively compared to Kohli’s 27. This means that they get to that scoring rate quicker. The last column below gives the difference between Kohli’s scoring rate and that of other players after the average number of balls of the other player’s innings. Kohli scores 5.7% slower than Rohit Sharma, 5.2% slower than KL Rahul, 27% slower than Suryakumar Yadav, and so on.

The ball-by-ball record of T20 internationals gives each player’s average score after each ball of their innings. All five other batters in the current India line-up accelerate faster than Kohli does. This means that they attempt boundaries more frequently than Kohli does, and that’s why they get out earlier more often than he does.Kartikeya DateThe temptation, especially if one is a fan of Kohli, is to ask, “Why focus on Kohli, who made more runs than anybody else in the tournament?” The above is the answer. T20 is not a game for accumulators. It is a game for plunderers.Teams have ten wickets to spend over 120 balls – 12 balls per wicket, compared to 30 balls per wicket in ODIs, and roughly 62 balls per wicket in Tests (the average Test innings lasts just over 100 overs in the modern era). So we can say that for a player’s innings to not be considered a failure, the player should not be dismissed in their first 12 balls. But we also don’t want the player to score slowly just to survive 12 balls. Which is why we also use the expected runs from that delivery in the comparison.The expected runs from each ball are estimated as the average runs scored from a given delivery. This is defined in terms of three variables at the time the delivery is bowled: (a) the number of balls remaining in the innings, (b) the number of wickets in hand, and (c) the innings scoring rate at the start of the delivery. For example, after 50 balls, with two wickets lost and a current scoring rate of six runs per over in T20, the 51st ball of the innings is expected to produce 1.061 runs. Given a current scoring rate of nine runs per over, the same delivery is expected to produce 1.304 runs. After 80 balls, with two down, a current scoring rate of nine runs per over produces an expected-runs estimate of 1.518 runs per ball.Note that these are actual average runs from such deliveries available in the record. As more and more T20 fixtures are played, this expected runs record will become “smoother”. An alternative approach would be to train a linear model, which uses the same three inputs and estimates outputs for a given (balls, wickets, economy) input, but here I use the average runs from deliveries in the T20 record.

We can now organise T20 innings into four categories:
1. Failures: The player is dismissed within 12 balls and scores fewer than the expected runs from the balls faced.2. Cameos: The player is dismissed within 12 balls and scores more than the expected runs from the balls faced.3. Successes: The player faces at least 12 balls and scores more than the expected runs from the balls faced.4. Under Par: The player faces at least 12 balls and scores less than the expected runs from the balls faced.The distribution of Rohit Sharma’s T20 international innings according to the classification above is in this graph.Kartikeya DateThe distribution of innings across these categories in all T20 internationals for India’s top six batters in the 2022 World Cup is below. Kohli plays Under-Par innings more frequently than any other player. Note the high rate of Failures and Under-Par innings for Hardik Pandya, who bats later in the innings than players who regularly bat in the top four, and so is at the crease when the expected runs from each delivery are higher than they are in the first half of the T20 innings.

When only 120 balls are available to the team in the innings, acceleration in run-scoring is as significant as scoring. Kohli’s scoring rate in his first 27 balls (the number of balls he faces in his average innings), is 128.6 runs per 100 balls faced. Rohit Sharma’s scoring rate in his first 20 balls is 127.6. KL Rahul’s scoring rate in his first 24 balls is 134.1. Note that this comparison provides a picture that is distinct from the one provided in the first table in this article. In that table, scoring rates are compared relative to dismissal rates (X balls), with faster dismissal rates indicating propensity to take greater risks earlier. Rohit’s scoring rate in T20Is is 139 runs per 100 balls faced, and he is dismissed once every 19.8 balls. But if you consider only his first 20 balls his scoring rate is 127.6. This provides a picture of different rates of acceleration between these players.In the table above, readers will also note that while one in four of Pandya’s innings in which he lasts less than 12 balls are Cameos (Failure and Cameo percentages add up to 45.8, and Cameos are about 25% of that total). One out of five of Kohli’s innings of this type are Cameos (4.7% Cameos, 18.7% Failures). KL Rahul starts even slower than Kohli (4.7% Cameos, 23.5% Failures), but if he lasts 12 balls, the majority of his 12-ball-plus innings are Successes, while only two out of five such innings by Kohli are Successes.However the record is considered, it shows that Kohli is a slow-scoring T20 player as a rule. It is only in the slog that he opens out. A consequence of this is that out of the 120 deliveries available, a large number go uncontested, and are unavailable to other batters. India’s problem here is not as acute as Pakistan’s. Pakistan have both Mohammad Rizwan and Babar Azam who have T20 scoring profiles similar to Kohli’s. Nevertheless it remains a problem for India, much as Kane Williamson’s difficulties remain a problem for New Zealand.There is a lot of discussion in the media about India needing to set up separate squads with separate coaches for each format. As these questions are considered, one issue would be whether players with the scoring profile of Virat Kohli or Kane Williamson are good fits in T20 top orders.India may not be able to match England’s versatility in the short run (England could field six allrounders in their XI in the T20 World Cup final), but they could potentially front-load their hitting talent and use someone like Kohli at No. 6, as insurance, instead of using him to anchor the innings from one end at the top of the order. This will ensure the necessary acceleration, and provide the assurance of there being a backstop in case of early wickets (which is inevitable from time to time). This will reduce the frequency of Under-Par innings from India’s top order and raise the ceiling for the scores India can produce.If the idea is, as many observers have noted, that India need a reboot, then part of this reboot ought to be to take seriously the proposition that T20 is a contest of efficiency. This will require measurements that go beyond basic scoring rates, which can be deceptive, especially for top-order T20 bats.

Apparent Shakib-Tamim issue a big storm in a tea cup

by n8rngtd.top Uncategorized

It may be that BCB president overplayed the seriousness about the alleged “Issues” between the two senior players

Mohammad Isam03-Mar-2023When Tamim Iqbal tapped Shakib Al Hasan’s gloves upon his entry, the full-house crowd roared in delight. Bangladesh were 9 for 3 in the second over. Their defense of a proud home record was going up in smoke. This was the 72nd time that Shakib and Tamim were batting together in an international, but the first time since BCB president Nazmul Hassan broke the news last week that the two senior Bangladesh cricketers don’t talk to each other.So obviously the tap of the gloves, or the time Tamim took a catch off Shakib’s bowling in the first ODI, or the times they spoke in the field generally as two team-mates do – they all drew a lot of attention. Some of those moments have become memes already. But they were tepid, not really viral material.Because really this is a bit of a non-issue. It grabbed headlines last week because the BCB president spoke in detail about Shakib and Tamim not talking to each other for a few years. Hassan called the row an open secret, but one that bothered the other players. He said Bangladesh’s dressing room was uncomfortable.Related

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In a very leaky inner circle, these incidents, rumours, half-truths come out quite often. Never, though, has the public heard about a Shakib-Tamim fight, or anything remotely close to it. Their fallout was indeed an open secret to those close to the game, but ESPNcricinfo understands that this has been going on for so long that not many are aware when it even began.Some believe that Tamim and Shakib never really had a flash point; they simply drifted apart. They don’t hang out in the same circles now but there was a time when they were friends. Shakib had written an entire column on Tamim in 2010.Tamim’s measured press conference on the subject drew him a lot of praise. He said that he could have avoided it by saying “no comment” but needed to make things clear to the public and fans. It was a good move, but it led to some very confusing follow-up quotes from the BCB chief Hassan.On February 27, Hassan addressed the issue again, this time saying he only heard about the row in the media, even though until February 25, when he brought up the topic, it was never reported on, not even on social media.”Quite simply, I didn’t see any problem in the dressing room even three years ago… previously, I was always with the team. I have heard about the bad environment in the dressing room from outside. It is mostly heard from the media. The media people say it the most,” Hassan said. “It was all well during the World Cup last year in Australia. What I heard is what Tamim also said. I asked them if there’s a problem, they assured me that it won’t affect the cricket. That’s what I said in the interview. Tamim also said the same thing.”BCB president Nazmul Hassan fronts up to the media•BCBHassan added that the reason he came out with the news was to reduce the players’ discomfort. He wanted to “end this topic” and “bring the attention back to cricket”. Except he also appears to be the one who made it public.”Everyone in the media knew about it,” Hassan said. “So many people asked me about it. I didn’t like this rumour running around. It was making everyone uncomfortable, even for the players.”I started to hear that the dressing room environment isn’t good. I didn’t see a problem during the T20 World Cup. But something must have happened. I used to hear that Shakib and Tamim are close friends.”Something happened between them that the dressing room environment has become uncomfortable. The other players are afraid of talking to each other. They hesitate. They feel that if I talk to Shakib , the other will think I am in his camp. Similarly, they think that if I talk to Tamim, someone will feel bad.”For what it’s worth, both Shakib and Tamim have made it clear their relationship won’t affect the side’s performance. Even Hassan said as much. “I don’t know what the problem is,” Hassan said. “I didn’t ask them what the problem is. They told me that it won’t affect the cricket so half my work is done. They are playing together after a long time. Tamim missed the India series, and wasn’t around for the T20Is as well. I don’t think there will be a problem. They are all professionals and matured. They won’t harm the team.”But on March 2, between the first and second ODI, Shakib had reportedly stood up Hassan when the board chief wanted to meet him. Hassan played down the snub.”There was only one reason why I came here [to the team hotel],” Hassan said. “I could not meet Shakib during my first visit to the team hotel before the first ODI. That’s why I came today at Shakib’s request. Actually, I came here to see everyone and give them courage. I talked with him [Shakib] on the phone. After he learned that I was about to visit [the team hotel], he called me and said that he was elsewhere.”He told me, ‘Come after 9pm.’ And I replied, ‘Look, it’s okay as you are busy. I don’t have much to say [to Shakib and others]. I just dropped by and I will just have a few words with them. I will talk to you over the phone later at night.'”Tamim and Shakib couldn’t quite save Bangladesh in the second game. They added 79 runs for the fourth wicket, but the 327 chase needed them to stay for longer. By losing the second game against England, Bangladesh lost their first ODI series at home in seven years. England are a great white-ball team with plenty of firepower, even in subcontinent conditions. But one wonders whether Bangladesh were better off without the Shakib-Tamim topic being brought up just two days before this big series.

Aqib Javed: 'We wanted the best bowling unit, everyone else is after the best hitters'

by h716a5.icu Uncategorized

How Qalandars used out-of-the-box T20 thinking to engage their core and engineer a turnaround

Umar Farooq15-Mar-2023From being one of the least successful sides to winning the league to becoming one of its stronger teams now, how have Lahore Qalandars’ fortunes turned around?
When I joined in the second year of this franchise, I looked around hoping to find players available to replace what wasn’t working. We had Azhar Ali as captain… that was the choice we had back then. It was new back then and nobody had an idea what was happening and how to handle this. And then we brought in Brendon McCullum as captain, and his thought process now has started to reflect in his coaching of England.Brendon did try to bring in that fearless element here, but to translate that any human being needs time. The biggest challenge in franchise cricket is that you have everything but time to understand and coach. There are players who land and play the next day like we had Sam Billings, who landed one morning and was playing the next day. So it takes time and we knew things were bad, we were criticised, but also knew we can’t do much about it mid-season. So we started the PDP (player development programme) and decided to make our own players.The biggest challenge is the selection in the draft, where you have to control your feelings, resist big, attractive properties, and focus on what are your requirements and team composition. We deliberately wanted to make the best bowling unit, where everyone else is after the best hitters. What is the counter to the best hitter? The best bowling. And what we have, nobody in the world has it.

“We had to tone down the temptation of big T20 names and invested our time in making a core largely based on getting reliable local players”

Qalandars were the poorest team in the first few years – how were those issues rectified?
You have four foreign players and you can’t play more than that. So the focus has always been on seven local players and we haven’t had a big pool available in our earlier seasons. Even now, there isn’t a big pool coming out of domestic cricket, so we have to develop our own through the PDP. It’s really hard to find the quality that is required at this level. You actually know those gaps and you have to search for the right player, bring them in, and get them ready for the role.There has been a temptation to go after big names, and we did get the best in the world, but over the years [we] learned that it doesn’t help if your local core isn’t as good. So we had to tone down the temptation of [going after] big T20 names and invested our time in making a core largely based on getting reliable local players.We took time when we were ridiculed a lot for losing in earlier seasons. But we were working behind the scenes. We were building our core quietly. We found Haris Rauf from these dusty grounds, we contributed to the growth of Shaheen [Shah Afridi] and made him captain, persisted with Fakhar Zaman through thick and thin, trusted David Wiese, let Mohammad Hafeez go and brought Sikandar Raza in. Rashid Khan became an integral part of the side, Zaman Khan is a new emerging talent, so overall we managed our core smartly. That’s the only difference from being the worst side to one of the best sides. Now we have a reliable core.How did you put the bowling attack together?
The idea was to recreate what Pakistan had in the ’90s. In our cricket, the impact of the two Ws [Wasim Akram and Waqar Younis] is never forgotten. People don’t want to forget the era. We can’t have them back, but we can make another one for people to see and enjoy. So I had the vision to see Shaheen as a left-arm pacer, Haris Rauf with his deadly pace, and then we were looking for a new-ball bowler and we found Zaman Khan. Does that remind you of something? That takes you back to the ’90s and that’s what I wanted to see. Six overs upfront and the remaining six in death, so this combination today is the most lethal in the world. One moment of brilliance from a batter can win you a game, but bowling units win you tournaments.People underrate Zaman and don’t really see him as a prospect. The kind of performance he gave last season, he was ignored and he returned to repeat it. His skill-set and the confidence he has make him probably Pakistan’s fourth automatic-choice fast bowler. After Shaheen, Haris, and Naseem Shah, he is the one that comes in the line. He has the control, has the variations, and a quality slinger action so I will be surprised if he doesn’t play for Pakistan very soon.

“We say, if you want to win, come compete with us; but then you have to hit six bowlers at ten an over. If you manage to hit 40 each off Shaheen, Rashid, Haris, David, Zaman and Sikandar, then you deserve to win”

You’ve seen Rashid Khan up close now for a while – what makes him so special?
We had a debate the other day, talking about what he has that others don’t. We agreed it is the pressure. If he is in any team, the kind of pressure he puts on the opponent makes a difference. His skills, the accuracy, and the level of control he has over his game. He has such control in his hands that he strikes at will. You feel nervous facing him because he brings that pressure and in four overs you don’t have a chance.So is it fair to say that Qalandars have gone from being a conventional T20 batting side to a bowling-oriented team and that has changed their fortunes?
What do we produce the best? Bowlers, right? I acted with the kind of bowlers we produce, to use that as leverage. This wasn’t built overnight. We made it and I am extremely proud to form this attack.In T20 thinking, you get wickets from the new ball and we have Shaheen, who is the best in the world and at the end, you have to defend the total. You need a death bowler and nobody is better than Haris Rauf. From two seasons, the way Zaman merged into this pack as a death bowler and even with the new ball, this composition is the best in the world. Then, in the middle overs, you have the privilege of Rashid and the kind of impact he brings to any side. This season, a masterstroke gift we found from the draft was Sikandar Raza. You look at our journey from Hafeez to Sikandar – isn’t it one of the best moves? It is.Related

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David [Wiese] – people don’t rate him much, they think of him as a retired cricketer who used to play for South Africa and possibly a bowler they think they can use his overs as an opportunity. But it’s an illusion. He has the highest number of five-wicket hauls in T20 cricket in the world. People look at him as a soft target and want to attack him, but he is very smart and uses variations depending on the situation. So, we say, if you want to win, come compete with us; but then you have to hit six bowlers at ten an over. If you manage to hit 40 each off Shaheen, Rashid, Haris, David, Zaman and Sikandar then you deserve to win. If any two bowlers go under 30 and others over [30] then the maximum you can get is 160 or 170.Last year, Multan Sultans looked invincible, only to lose in the final. You are looking unbeatable right now – how do you guard against a similar fate as Multan Sultans?
It depends on the environment. Sometimes emotions drive you and take you to the skies. When you are on a winning streak everyone is a winner, even a coach or a masseur, the support staff feels like a winner even if they are not on the field. We keep on reminding ourselves to resist the temptation inside, and that excitement needs to find a balance. You lose someday and you could get really down or with a good win your excitement gets out of control. These are the kind of things we talk about in the dressing room, to understand failure and winning and finding the right balance between them.There will be times when you lose. We lost against Karachi [Kings] and got into trouble against Quetta Gladiators, but when you learn to deal with the emotions then you’re less likely to have accidents in the field. So a few losses in the group stage came at the right time to bring us back, to make us realise that it’s not over yet.Qalandars is a vibrant sort of franchise – loud, colourful, in the limelight. Is that a distraction at all?
Problems start when there is too much talk about the game, and everyone’s throwing in their opinions, and a lot of elements that could take away your focus. We didn’t make a team with a random bunch of players coming from different backgrounds, we made an environment and a good environment can change a lot of things. Everyone is treated the same and everyone is given importance. We are Qalandars from the heart, which gives us stability and gives us the freedom to focus on the game rather than managing egos. This team is not dependent on any one player. It’s about composition, and every player has his own importance. There is no one superstar but everyone is a star.We know our limitations, we know our strengths, and in cricket that one moment always comes to you where things can go either way. You can lose on a given day and it’s not like you are invincible. For instance, it came on Sikandar Raza when he scored 71 when the team was reeling at 50 for 7, and he swung the game away and we ended up winning the game. He told us that when he went in he didn’t feel that there was any such pressure on him, when to the outside it would look like there was.Why did he feel that way? Because we have created an environment where you have to accept that in your mind that if you get out it’s okay, it’s not the end of the world. You can lose and your life doesn’t end there. We just tell them that you should enjoy the game, recall why they started playing cricket in their childhood and never forget that. At times, I see so many people get involved at different levels, they make it like war and families open up the praying mats and start praying. Suddenly it feels like you need help from the divine to play this game. It’s unnecessary pressure on you when you stop trusting your skills. All you have to do is enjoy the game and at the end of the day it’s a game and you compete with skill. So keep it simple it’s a game.Aqib Javed, second from right, sits with some of his bowlers – [L to R] Tahir Baig, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Haris Rauf and Zaman Khan•Lahore QalandarsIt’s a belief that Qalandars don’t believe in data – is that true?
I don’t know where this came from. We, in fact, at one stage had three data analysts including AR Srikkanth from KKR, one of the most renowned guys in the business. So we do use data support as well. It’s not something we boast about. It’s basically a support, available at all times for players if they want to take it. We believe in players’ skills, their abilities and developing leadership. We don’t believe in sending messages from outside the rope. There is Rashid, Wiese, Fakhar, Shaheen inside and we have faith in them, believing in their collective intelligence and knowledge. If they together can’t do it then they don’t deserve to be in.We as coaches developed them for every scenario they could face in and what to expect, what to do and how to respond. They are there because we trust them and if you don’t know what to do, then what the hell are you doing inside? We don’t confuse players with a lot of numbers, we train them to compete but every player has a different level of absorbing information. We have support available all the time and if you want it you can take it. We are not denying it but we are careful not to put too much pressure on them. You can easily scare the player off with it and could slow him down.So where and how do you use data?
It is the coach’s job to absorb the numbers and transform them into a language a player can easily understand. It works differently with every player; some players don’t have time to watch cricket and we have to feed them with information about the opponent. Some players go with instincts and adjust within the field after watching a few balls. But our primary success is that we have a support staff working all year. If you look at other teams, they have coaching staff going in and out moving from IPL to PSL to Hundred to T10, and the window is always shutting down and opening to join teams a few days before the event.We have a set support staff and our vision is to make competitive cricketers and back their skills so that they don’t have to look back in the dressing room when they don’t have ideas. We prepared them for being on the ground with all the support when you are outside the rope but when you are on the ground you should know what to do. It’s the preparation that speaks on the ground. Our job ends when players go inside the rope. That is when their job starts and we take a back seat.

Will Jacks' ODI debut dash highlights England calendar crunch

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Allrounder completes set of international caps with first List A appearance in four years

Matt Roller02-Mar-2023Twenty-six hours and fifty-two minutes. That is the length of time between Jimmy Anderson strangling Neil Wagner down the leg side to give New Zealand a one-run win in the second Test at the Basin Reserve, and Chris Woakes beating Tamim Iqbal on the outside edge some 7000 miles away in the first ODI at the Shere Bangla Stadium in Dhaka.International teams playing on consecutive days has become all too common in the post-Covid era: last year, I was among the handful of people present as England won their third ODI against the Netherlands in Amstelveen on the evening of June 22, and then again for the first day of their Headingley Test against New Zealand on the morning of June 23. This time, it was physically impossible to be at both the denouement of the Wellington Test and the start of the Mirpur ODI – at least, while using commercial airlines.History will show that one player managed the improbable feat of being in England’s squads for both games. Will Jacks made the journey to Bangladesh on Saturday after he was left out of England’s team for the second Test; he was officially added as cover for the injured Tom Abell, but the ECB had discussed the possibility of him joining the ODI squad even before Abell strained his side in Sri Lanka.Related

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On Wednesday, Jacks was presented with his ODI cap by his Surrey team-mate Jason Roy, completing his full set five-and-a-half months – but only four games – after making his England debut in a T20I in Karachi. In that time, Jacks has started to resemble the personification of English cricket’s scheduling crisis.In September, he played two T20Is in Pakistan while Liam Livingstone was injured and Ben Stokes was being rested, on a tour which represented preparation for a T20 World Cup he would play no part in. In December, he played two Tests in Pakistan, in part because Moeen Ali had retired from the format due to England’s schedule.A month later, he thrived at the SA20 – then missed the final stages in order to travel to New Zealand with England’s Test squad. Now, he is in Bangladesh, again in part due to Livingstone’s injury-enforced absence – and pulled out of a planned three-match stint in the PSL to make himself available. “I’ve had six days at home since the start of November,” he told reporters in Bangladesh, also revealing that his luggage had arrived 48 hours after him.It is a bizarre itinerary, but hardly an unusual one among England’s players. More than 60 have been involved in overseas short-form leagues over the winter, and keeping track of England’s squads now requires close attention: they have played six matches across formats in 2023, and used 26 different players.Jacks made a solid impression on ODI debut. He bowled some hard-spun offbreaks in his role as England’s third spinner, conceding a solitary boundary and picking up a fortuitous wicket: Afif Hossain miscued him to mid-on while hacking across the line. Figures of 1 for 18 in five overs made him England’s most economical bowler.Jacks received his England ODI cap before play in Mirpur•Getty ImagesBatting at No. 6 in the chase, he was frenetic early in his innings: he managed 10 off his first 23 balls, including an edged four, a caught-and-bowled chance off Mustafizur Rahman, and a couple of ugly swipes as he struggled to find his rhythm. He picked up three boundaries in his next five balls, including a lofted six over cover, then picked out deep midwicket off Mehidy Hasan to fall for 26 off 31.The tempo of 50-over batting did not come naturally for him – and why should it have? This was Jacks’ first List A game in four years, a scenario that would have seemed unthinkable for an England ODI debutant in any previous era yet has now become a fact of life, such are the idiosyncrasies of the schedule.Ever since England’s World Cup win in 2019, their domestic 50-over competition has clashed with the Hundred. As a result, a generation of talented young white-ball players have had almost no exposure to one-day cricket since Under-19 level: in Sri Lanka last month, Tom Hartley (10 first-class appearances, 59 T20s) and Tom Lammonby (33 first-class appearances, 62 T20s) both made their List A debuts while playing for England Lions.Players like Jacks have been caught in the crosshairs: after this tour to Bangladesh, he will try to push his case for World Cup selection during two months with Royal Challengers Bangalore at the IPL, then with Surrey and Oval Invincibles during the English summer. Like most of his team-mates, he will not play a 50-over game between the third ODI and England’s selection meeting for the main event.Clearly, the situation is far from ideal. England would not, ideally, be giving Jacks his debut seven months out from their title defence, even if his most likely role in their squad would be as a multi-talented back-up player who could be used as an opener or in the middle order.Ideally, he would be playing more 50-over cricket, too. Andrew Strauss’ high-performance review last year proposed moving the One-Day Cup from August to April. “For England to be winning 50-over World Cups, it needs to provide its highest-potential players opportunities to play the format. This is not possible in today’s schedule,” the review said. But the proposals were rejected by the counties, and the status quo will prevail.And yet, Jacks’ cameo represented a valuable contribution to a scrappy England win, giving them two opportunities to inflict Bangladesh’s first home ODI series defeat since England’s most recent tour in 2016. England’s ODI results have been poor in the last 12 months, but as Moeen Ali said before this series: “We have lost 8 in the last 10 – but we are also the champions of the world.”Even while fielding a half-strength team for most of this cycle, England are second in the ICC’s Super League and are second-favourites for the World Cup behind the hosts, India. It would be a major surprise if they failed to reach the semi-finals.Jacks’ ODI debut is emblematic of the format’s diminished status within English cricket since that day at Lord’s four years ago. Yet he possesses the qualities – adaptability, versatility and, above all talent – which underpin England’s confidence that, come October, everything will fall into place once again.

If you need someone to scramble, who better than Kane Williamson?

by n8rngtd.top Uncategorized

In a very Kane Williamson sort of way he made sure nothing less than the perfect play would catch him out at the pivotal moment of the Christchurch Test

Andrew Fidel Fernando13-Mar-2023Kane Williamson is scrambling.At his best, this is an imperious batter. Compact, assured, supremely accomplished. Not a player in the vein of a Babar Azam, or even a Rohit Sharma, who both bat as if born into an obscene inheritance of talent. There are gifts for Williamson too; they are quickened by something else.But, last ball of a Test, the shadow of the Hagley Oval pavilion darkening a surface that still offers bounce and movement for the bowler, who is operating with a ball that is 70 overs old and as such has long since lost its shine, there Williamson is. He has attempted to hook this head-high ball (he might fairly contend it passed higher than his head), and he has missed.So now, he has to go to Plan B. And everyone knows what Plan B is.Before he has even left his crease, batting partner Neil Wagner is halfway down the pitch. Wagner is nursing a hamstring tear and a bulging disc in his spine. But this is Wagner, who is a cricketer powered so completely by willpower that the physical details of what his body can realistically achieve fade into insignificance. Wagner desperately wants to be halfway down the pitch at this moment. So, it ends up not mattering what the nerves near his spine, or his hamstring, are telling him. (“Dear God, what is your problem?” “We’ve had enough.” “Please stop, you f****ng madman.” – Some of the things his body would be saying, if we had to hazard a guess.)Related

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Williamson is still on the crease while Wagner is halfway down, because the bowler Asitha Fernando is playing the situation perfectly. He has bowled a bouncer, which Williamson has to put his weight on his back foot to play. Because he is going back, it means he has to reverse his momentum to attempt the single that New Zealand require to win the game. In such situations, run outs are frequently the most likely dismissal – the bowler beating the bat, the keeper with one glove off throwing down the stumps closest to them, the non-striking batter caught short.But Asitha is ready for his plan B too. Niroshan Dickwella, the wicketkeeper, misses the stumps closest to him, which means that Wagner makes his ground comfortably. But Asitha knows that if Dickwella is aiming at those stumps, he can collect on his follow through and throw down the next set. His thinking is spectacular. It is perfect.Earlier in the over, Asitha collected a bounce throw from the deep and effected a run out with minimum fuss and total efficiency. If there is any player on the field matching Williamson’s nous and Wagner’s effort right now, it is Asitha. His first 11 overs in this innings cost 14 runs. In the previous three overs before this one, when New Zealand have been trying to smash it, he conceded just 15. He’s keeping Sri Lanka in the match.

Williamson once described the feeling of batting alongside a big-hitting Brendon McCullum as being “like the library in a theme park” … Libraries have been around for millennia. Quietly enriching the human experience, shaping history in all sorts of subtle ways, forging progress, informing advancement.

On this last ball, Asitha gets into perfect position to collect the ball as Williamson is scrambling, he swivels on his left heel, and almost in the same movement, he throws down the stumps at the non-striker’s end.It is an perfect play. He’s beaten the batter and pushed him on to the back foot. He’s collected the throw and hit the stumps direct. But Asitha sends the throw in on the bounce. It hits the pitch halfway between him and middle stump. The bails fly off. Some close fielders are excited.But here is the physics: The bounce helped the ball find its target, but it slowed the throw down. Not only did the ball have a greater distance to travel, it had to be deflected off the ground, which always absorbs some energy. Williamson made his ground by a fraction of a second. This, very likely, was the difference between a draw for New Zealand, and a victory.On his 93rd Test, the act that will define this game, is Williamson’s sprinting and diving. So that only a perfect play, and not an perfect play, could catch him short.Captain Tim Southee greets his two match-winners, Kane Williamson and Neil Wagner•Getty ImagesThis is New Zealands greatest men’s batter. The late Martin Crowe – the only player whose record could seriously have stood up to Williamson’s – happily acknowledged this many years ago. In the last Test Williamson played, he became the most prolific Test batter from his country and put the matter to rest. This 121 not out was his second second-innings hundred in succession.Others have perhaps forged more eye-catching careers through their explosive batting, or their charisma, or the effect they have had on foreign leagues and foreign teams.Williamson once described the feeling of batting alongside the bonkers Brendon McCullum as being “like the library in a theme park”.Theme parks, a modern phenomenon, are the venue of glorious, but transitory, entertainment. They are lit up all over, joyful squeals lasting late into the night, kids flitting from ride to ride, the bang-badoosh-whoosh of rollercoasters the scene of screaming and indescribable fun for years, but eventually turning into rusting monuments to human elation decades later, the place decommissioned, the park having made its money, and moved on.Libraries, meanwhile, have been around for millennia. Quietly enriching the human experience, shaping history in all sorts of subtle ways, forging progress, informing cerebral pleasures. They will be around for millennia yet.Today, Williamson, the greatest batter New Zealand has ever produced in its long cricketing history had to scramble a bye, to win a Test off the last delivery. And he scrambled the hell out of it.

Zaman Khan and Shahnawaz Dahani – Pakistan unearth slingy delight for Asia Cup knockouts

by h716a5.icu Uncategorized

Zaman will replace Naseem for Pakistan’s virtual semi-final against Sri Lanka

Danyal Rasool13-Sep-2023As if Pakistan’s record-breaking 228-run defeat to India wasn’t bad enough, Pakistan were dealt a further blow when two of their much vaunted fast-bowling triumvirate failed to see out the first innings with the ball or emerge with the bat in the dying throes of the second. To make matters worse, Naseem Shah has been ruled out of the Asia Cup, with Haris Rauf a significant doubt, hampering Pakistan’s chances of a third title. Fast-bowling reserves have since been flown into Sri Lanka.Any injury to key players three weeks out from the World Cup is bound to cause angst, and Pakistan were keen to point out they would rather err on the side of caution when it comes to managing Naseem and Rauf’s return. But when it comes to fast bowling, Pakistan’s reputation is one of high quality, as well as high quantity. In calling up Shahnawaz Dahani and Zaman Khan, Pakistan might argue they are drawing upon players who would play international cricket much more regularly in a side where competition for fast-bowling slots wasn’t so extreme.Zaman KhanZaman makes his ODI debut tomorrow in what will be just his eighth 50-over game. The 22-year-old made his T20 debut just two years ago at the National T20 Cup and burst onto the national conscience as an express pace bowler with a slingy action in the following PSL. While control was initially an issue, he made his mark with a stellar PSL campaign earlier this year, taking 15 wickets, developing a reputation as a superb death-overs-yorker bowler, famously bowling the final over of the tournament and closing out a one-run victory for Lahore Qalandars against Multan Sultans.Related

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That has propelled him into demand on the T20 circuit, as well as an international debut in the format. He spent much of the summer in England with Derbyshire in the T20 Blast, and the Manchester Originals in the Hundred, and while the economy rate is a shade on the high side, Zaman’s yorkers at their most accurate can be as close to unplayable as it gets.Shahnawaz DahaniDahani isn’t yet officially part of the squad but has been called up as cover in the event that Rauf is ruled out completely. Dahani, in the 2021 PSL, was a wholesome revelation, finishing as the top wicket-taker of the tournament, and delighting as much with his bubbling personality as his raw talent and a media persona that hadn’t yet been homogenised by professional sport.Accuracy, however, has eluded him, and the potential to go for huge runs on off days has limited his game time for Pakistan. Naseem’s white-ball emergence, as well as the presence of Mohammad Hasnain – currently injured – and Zaman has seen Dahani fall down the pecking order. He spent much of the summer in Zimbabwe playing first-class and List A cricket, where he was solid without quite setting the world alight. However, he has a knack of picking up wickets whenever he plays. A five-wicket haul for Pakistan A against Nepal was the highlight, followed by a somewhat indifferent stint in the Lanka Premier League, where he took four wickets in as many games.

Which bowler has the longest unbroken streak of wickets in every Test innings since debut?

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And has any other player hit a six and taken a wicket off the final balls of their career as Stuart Broad did?

Steven Lynch07-Aug-2023Stuart Broad hit a six off the last ball he faced in Tests, and then took a wicket with his final ball too. Has anyone else done this? asked Matthew Edwards from Australia, and many others

I think I had more messages in the last week about Stuart Broad’s feats in the last Ashes Test at The Oval than any other recent occurrence! And the short answer is that Broad is indeed the first to achieve both these feats in his final Test.Broad hit a six from the final ball he received, from Mitchell Starc, and was then left not out when James Anderson was dismissed in the next over to end England’s second innings. Two other men are known to have hit the last ball they received in Tests for six: the West Indian fast bowler Wayne Daniel, against Australia in Port-of-Spain in 1983-84, and the Australian allrounder Glenn Maxwell, against Bangladesh in Chattogram in 2017-18. Although it currently seems unlikely, it’s possible that Maxwell could yet play another Test.According to the Melbourne statistician Charles Davis, there’s one other possible addition to the list: the West Indian legspinner Tommy Scott hit a six during the last over he faced in Tests, against Australia in Melbourne in 1930-31 – but full ball-by-ball details have not survived, so we’re not quite sure when he hit it.Neither Daniel nor Maxwell (or Scott) also took a wicket with their final delivery in a Test, as Broad did. He joined a surprisingly long list – around 120 men – who have done this. Many of the players concerned are not terribly memorable, but the better-known names include Muthiah Muralidaran, Glenn McGrath, Richard Hadlee, Hugh Trumble, Charles “The Terror” Turner, Jim Laker, Alan Davidson, Garry Sobers, Derek Underwood, Andy Caddick, Sarfraz Nawaz and Dennis Lillee. Perhaps the strangest entry on the list is the South African wicketkeeper Mark Boucher, who took his only Test wicket – the West Indian Dwayne Bravo in Antigua in 2004-05 – in his 84th match, and never bowled again in 63 further Tests.In his long Test career, Stuart Broad took an eight-wicket haul and also had an innings of more than 150. How many people have managed this double? asked Derek Martin from England

The retiring Stuart Broad hit 169 against Pakistan at Lord’s in 2010, and five years later took 8 for 15 in Australia’s astonishing first-morning collapse at Trent Bridge.Broad is one of only seven men to do this particular double in a Test career. Two of them actually made double-centuries: Vinoo Mankad of India (who passed 200 twice, and also took two eight-fors) and England’s Ian Botham (two lots of eight). Two of them took nine wickets in an innings: Richard Hadlee of New Zealand, and India’s Kapil Dev, who had two hauls of eight wickets and one of nine.The other two to complete the “Broad double” were England’s Wilfred Rhodes and the South African Lance Klusener, who took 8 for 64 on his debut, against India in Kolkata in 1996-97.A further 12 men have scored at least one century and taken eight wickets in an innings during their Test career: Botham uniquely did it in the same match, with 108 and 8 for 34 against Pakistan at Lord’s in 1978. For the full list, click here.Prabath Jayasuriya has taken a wicket in every Test innings in which he has bowled. Is there a longer streak of taking wickets in innings from debut? And what’s the most consecutive innings a bowler has taken at least one wicket? asked Michael Baker from England

The Sri Lankan slow left-armer Prabath Jayasuriya has so far bowled in 16 Test innings, and taken at least one wicket each time (he has 59 in all at the moment). The record in this regard is held by the New Zealand paceman Shane Bond, who bowled in 32 innings in all from his debut in November 2001, and never failed to take a wicket.The West Indian fast bowler Andy Roberts and the 1930s England legspinner Walter Robins both took at least one wicket in the first 23 innings in which they bowled.The record for a mid-career streak is held by Muthiah Muralidaran, who took at least one wicket (and usually many more!) in 52 successive Test innings from April 2006. Bishan Bedi struck in 42 successive innings, Dennis Lillee and Waqar Younis in 41, and Andrew Flintoff in 37.Shane Bond picked up a wicket in each of his first 32 Test innings since debut, the record•Getty ImagesDuring the Ashes series I heard Glenn McGrath say he was never dismissed in a Test at Lord’s, and scored a few runs there as well. What’s the most a batter has made on one ground without ever being dismissed? asked Tim Marshall from England

Glenn McGrath played three Tests at Lord’s, and he’s correct to say that he was never dismissed there. After making 0 not out in Australia’s eight-wicket victory in 2001, he scored 10 and 20, both undefeated, and had match figures of 9 for 82 in a 239-run win in 2005. (He didn’t bat in 1997, but did take 8 for 38!)Unsurprisingly, McGrath is a fair way down the list of run-scorers who were never dismissed at a particular ground. On top is the New Zealander Stephen Fleming, who made 343 runs at the P Sara Stadium in Colombo, in the form of innings of 274 and 69, both not out, against Sri Lanka in April 2003.Next come England’s Wally Hammond, whose one Test innings at Eden Park in Auckland brought him 336 not out in 1932-33, and the more recent Indian batter Karun Nair, who made an unbeaten 303 in his only innings at the Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai, in 2016-17. For the list, click here.The West Indian fast bowler Colin Croft had five Test innings at Port-of-Spain, scoring 31 runs while never being dismissed, while the Pakistan slow left-armer Zulfiqar Babar went in to bat six times in Sharjah and was never out, collecting a grand total of 22 runs in the process.Mukesh Kumar made his debut for India in all three formats in the space of a fortnight. Is this a record? asked Suresh Joshi from India

The 29-year-old Indian seamer Mukesh Sharma made his Test debut against West Indies in Port-of-Spain on July 20, played his first ODI in Bridgetown on July 27, and made his T20I bow in Tarouba (Trinidad) on August 3.Mukesh thus completed the full set of three international formats in 14 days – but he lies only second on this particular list. The New Zealander Peter Ingram actually completed his nap hand in just 12 days, all against Bangladesh early in 2010: T20I debut in Hamilton on February 3, first ODI in Napier on Feb 5, and a first Test cap in Hamilton on Feb 15.Ingram was 31 at the time, and the New Zealand historian Francis Payne recalled: “The ironic thing was that it took him almost ten years at provincial level before he represented New Zealand at all. He reinvented himself from a modest-scoring stonewaller to an aggressive and heavy-scoring batsman.”Aizaz Cheema (Pakistan) and Dion Myers (Zimbabwe) both took 15 days to complete a full set of international formats, Kyle Abbott (South Africa) 16, and Doug Bracewell (New Zealand) 17. The England record is held by Joe Root, at a relatively sedate 29 days.Shiva Jayaraman of ESPNcricinfo’s stats team helped with some of the above answers.Use our feedback form, or the Ask Steven Facebook page to ask your stats and trivia questions

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